The colder months bring cold and flu viruses that affect people of all ages, all over the country. Even if you protect yourself with the flu shot this year, you could still find yourself suffering from telltale signs of a cold, such as a runny nose, sore throat, and achy muscles. The good news is that colds can come and go quickly with a bit of help. Use these quick cold remedies to help relieve your cough and cold symptoms so you can feel normal again asap. We even throw in a simple ginger tea recipe!
Disclosure: As an Amazon affiliate, I earn from purchases made through links embedded below.
1. Inhale Essential Oils
Certain essential oils, such as eucalyptus oil, are great for clearing the sinuses, helping to clear up your blocked nose and making it easier to breathe again. Other ones, including lavender and chamomile, are great for relaxing your entire body. That makes it easier to drift off into a peaceful sleep at night even if your nose is running and your throat feels sore.
Use a Bluetooth essential oil diffuser next to your bed at night to spread the oils into the air so that you can breathe them in while asleep.
Tip: Mix a few drops of eucalyptus oil in with the water in your diffuser to make it easier for you to breathe at night. You’ll be less likely to wake up unexpectedly due to symptoms. Also, try a few drops on your pillow for extra relaxation.
2. Take a Detox Bath
A hot bath is a good idea for when you a cold. You’ll likely feel a lot better after a nice soak.
In addition to using essential oils with your diffuser, they can make a great addition to your bath water. This combo is what we call a detox bath. It’s one of our top quick cold remedies as not only will the soak help with cold symptoms as you breathe the oils in but you’ll also benefit from their muscle relaxation and skin conditioning properties. As a result, you’ll likely feel even better.
Epsom salts are also a great addition to your bath when you’re feeling unwell. The magnesium in Epsom salts has some great relaxing effects, which leaves you feeling ready for a good night’s sleep. Don’t forget that as you absorb electrolytes in a bath of Epsom salts, it’s a good idea to drink a little extra water afterward to stay hydrated. Doing so will also help towards getting rid of your cold!
3. Put More Garlic in Your Diet
Garlic is a great booster for the immune system with strong antiviral, antibacterial, and anti-fungal properties. If you suffer from a cold, add more garlic to your diet as a surefire way to improve your symptoms.
If you’re not big on the taste, try inhaling some garlic essential oil instead. An easy way to consume it is to put a few drops on a tissue or to breathe it in from the bottle. This approach is probably better than diffusing the smell of garlic around your room!
4. Make This Simple Ginger Tea Recipe
The blocked nose and irritated sinuses that accompany a cold tend to be from a germ known as rhinovirus. Ginger is a great food to fight it; ginger has antiseptic and anti-inflammatory properties that fight the rhinovirus specifically.
That’s one reason why sipping ginger tea of the best quick cold remedies, in our opinion. And here’s even more reason to love ginger. It can also help to ease other cold symptoms, such as headaches and sore throat.
Here is a simple ginger tea recipe:
- Get fresh ginger root, available at most grocery stores
- Boil water
- Grate 1 teaspoon of the ginger root into measuring cup
- Add hot water to 1 cup line and let steep 10 minutes
- Place a strainer over a mug
- Pour the liquid from the measuring cup to the mug
- Adjust the amount of water and ginger root used to your preference on the next cup! More ginger will make it a stronger taste, while more water will weaken it.
Or, if you don’t want to make this simple ginger tea recipe, pick up ginger tea bags instead. They’re available at most health food stores. For additional soothing properties, add a teaspoon of honey to your ginger tea.
5. Get Enough Vitamin C
Although researchers don’t agree that vitamin C can help prevent colds, studies show that vitamin C can help you get rid of a cold faster. However, when it comes to vitamin C supplements, it’s important to be aware of how much you can take in a dose. Although vitamin C is easy to find, taking too much of it can lead to further problems with digestion, so don’t overdo it.
Also, keep in mind that when you have a cold, your body tends to burn through more vitamin C than usual. If you don’t want to take supplements, then eat more of the foods that are high in this vitamin.
Examples of foods rich in vitamin C are:
- Oranges
- Pineapple
- Strawberries
- Watermelon
- Kiwifruit
- Mango
6. Make a Natural Detox Tea
Tired of ginger tea? Have you made that simple ginger tea recipe so many times that you want to try something different today? If so, there are other kinds of hot teas to help soothe your sick body. Use the right blend of ingredients in your tea to create amazing quick cold remedies in the comfort of home.
For instance, try a lemon tea designed to detox the body and purify your skin from the inside out. The main ingredients in this Traditional Medicinals tea are lemons, burdock, cleavers herb, and stinging nettle.
Get toxin-fighting power, while also enjoying a soothing and relaxing drink, all while boosting your immune system.
7. Try Zinc Supplements
Today, a typical diet doesn’t usually consist of many foods rich in zinc. But, even if you try and get an adequate amount of zinc in your diet, fighting a cold can quickly go through your body’s supply.
When you’re sick with a cold, your cells depend on strong immune function and energy production, which in turn depends on having an adequate supply of zinc. Taking zinc supplements can give your body everything that it needs to carry out these things, so it’s one of the top quick cold remedies. Essentially they can help you feel better faster.
There’s no shame in taking supplements as part of a healthy lifestyle. But please talk with your doctor before taking any supplements to make sure they are a good fit for you.
Some people take both zinc and copper supplements. Why? When you are supplementing zinc, your body will try to find copper wherever possible to produce an enzyme called Cu,Zn-SOD. So, taking copper supplements will ensure that your body is storing what you want it to.
The Takeaway on Quick Cold Remedies
While colds often accompany the cold weather, you don’t have to wait it out! Try these tips today to get feeling back to normal as quickly as possible.
If you try the simple ginger tea recipe, let us know what you think of it. Do you have any other quick cold remedies to suggest? I
